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Fulltext First Records of Morphological Diversity and Ecology of Periphytic Cyanobacteria from Tukun River, Penang Forest Reserve, Malaysia

Azizan AA, Radzi R, Omar WMW, Convey P, Merican FMMS

Trop Life Sci Res, 2020 Apr;31(1):85-105.
PMID: 32963713 DOI: 10.21315/tlsr2020.31.1.6

Despite the abundance of streams and rivers in Malaysia, the algal communities of these lotic ecosystems have remained largely unstudied. In a one-year floristic survey conducted from December 2014, 24 cyanobacterial morphospecies were identified for the first time from Tukun River, Penang Forest Reserve. Ten morphospecies were identified directly from field specimens while the remaining 14 morphospecies were identified only in cultures derived from the field samples. A total of 17 morphospecies; Leptolyngbya cf. boryana, L. cf. foveolarum, L. valderiana, Chroococcus cf. cohaerens, C. cf. disperses, C. cf. membraninus, C. cf. minutus, C. cf. varius, Gloeocapsopsis cf. crepidinum, Geitlerinema cf. tenuius, Phormidium simplicissimum, Dolichospermum sp., Fischerella sp., Homoeoptyche repens, Nematoplaca inscrustans, Scytonema hofmanii and S. stuposum are new records for Malaysia. Crusts were the most dominant macroscopic forms (seven morphospecies) followed by mats (three morphospecies). Scytonema was the most frequently encountered genus, occurring at 8/9 sampling sites. The presence of heterocytous cyanobacteria (S. stuposum, S. hofmanni) in 8/9 sampling sites is consistent with the low nitrate levels (< 0.74 mg/L) recorded throughout the study stream. Chroococcales were dominant in both upper and middle parts of the stream. The morphospecies present showed distinct distribution patterns despite apparently minimal variations in ecological parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity between the sampling sites. This study provides important new baseline information in understanding the diversity of periphytic cyanobacteria not only in Penang Island but more widely in Malaysia. This information can make a useful contribution in biomonitoring stream health.
Fulltext A Quality Improvement Approach to Reduce 30-day Readmissions and Mortality in Patients with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

Hoo YY, Mazlan-Kepli W, Hasan WNHW, Chen FJ, Devadas P, Chow YY, et al.

J Saudi Heart Assoc, 2021;33(2):149-156.
PMID: 34183912 DOI: 10.37616/2212-5043.1247

Objectives: Heart failure [HF] hospital readmissions are a continued challenge in the care of HF patients, which contribute substantially to the high costs of the disease and high mortality rate in lower to middle income country. We implemented a quality improvement project to improve patient outcomes and resource utilization.
Methods: This study was a prospective cohort design with a historical comparison group. It was conducted to assess the difference in 30-day readmissions and mortality and to assess compliance rate with HF guideline between the historical pre-intervention audit 1 cohort and prospective post-intervention audit 2 cohorts. Audit 1 cohort were recruited from January to February 2019, whereas, audit 2 cohort which received the bundled intervention program were recruited from July to December 2019. Clinical outcomes were compared between cohorts using 30-day readmissions and mortality.
Results: A total of 50 and 164 patients were included in audit 1 and audit 2 cohort, respectively. Patients in the audit 2 cohort were younger [63.0 ± 14.5 in audit 1 vs 56.5 ± 12.7 in audit 2, p = 0.003] and majority were male [50.0% in audit 1 vs 72.0% in audit2, p = 0.004]. Thirty-day readmissions were significantly different [36.0% audit 1 vs. 22.0% audit 2, p = 0.045], but the mortality rates were similar [4.0%% audit 1 vs. 5.5% audit 2, p = 0.677] between two cohorts.
Conclusion: A significant decrease in 30-day readmissions was observed in the post-intervention audit 2 cohort in our setting. Further study in larger population and prolong study follow-up is warranted.

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